Day trip to the volcanos?
 

I am staying in Honolulu. Is it resonable to do a day trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park? I don't want to stay over. It looks like a $126 flight early from Honolulu to Hilo in the morning and returning in the afternoon is the best bet. Are there any other deals or alternatives? Thanks in advance.

s! It's certainly doable, just be organized and know exactly what you'd like to see/do. <BR> <BR>Flying into Hilo, you're only about 25-30 minutes to VNP's entrance. From there, you can drive around Crater Rim Drive which is interesting but I would only stop once or twice for the views. Depending on your flight times, it is probably worthwhile to drive down Chain of Craters Road (much longer than it looks on the map, so allow time) and get a glimpse of the lava flows. Call ahead to find out exactly where the flows are entering the ocean. <BR> <BR>Another suggestion is to buy Big Island Revealed and choose one of the many recommended hikes (this book describes them in great detail). We really enjoyed the Kilauea Iki Trail, down into the bottom of a crater, but there are many other options depending on your interests. <BR> <BR>Let me know if you have any other questions. We spent two days there and felt we could have easily spent another full day exploring this fascinating area. If you're focused on specific sights, however, it can be done in a day. <BR> <BR>Aloha!

That's also a good opportunity to drive along the coast from Hilo to see the black sand beach.

YOU ARE MISSING THE VOLCANO ENTIRELY IF YOU ARE NOT GOING FOR A NIGHT VIEW!!!

Night view? Wow...that sounds great. I will have to check and see how late we can fly out. We are going in the winter...so it will get dark sooner.

I first read about this in the diary of Queen Liloukilani (Hawaii's Last Queen). She spoke about it as being one of the best things you could do on any island. She use to go at midnight. It begins to get dark at about 7. Stay over, the volcano house is nothing special but it is inside the park and you can get rooms as low as $99. Going at night might seem a bit intimadating but there are actually park rangers on hand. We turn back if we start to feel heat under our feet. Just kidding, you can keep a comfortable distance and marvel at the fire flowing down a mountain and into an ocean. I remember sitting on a picnic table at a distance. <BR> <BR>Call Pleasant Island Holidays or any other Hawaii Based travel agency for deals. You also have Roberts Hawaii. I personally would spend two days you could ride and see the black sand beaches. A drive to Waipio Valley would also be nice but about 1.5 hours away by car. Check it out on the internet for a photo. If you really only have a short amount of time see if you can get a night view of volcano. You will never forget the experience.

The sun sets the same time all year round in Hawaii so don't expect a 5 pm sunset on the big island in winter. Good luck listen to the above comment is good advice if I do say so myself!

Thanks to all the posters. Sounds like the volcanos will be a great adventure. If the sun usually sets at the same time (Patrice)...does it also rise at the same time? Also, is there a on-line site to check and see if the lava is flowing on a particular day?

I watch the Star Bulletin out of Honolulu they give you updates occasionally. I get their emails each day perhaps you can find a Big Island paper that will do the same for you. Seek online and yee shall find. The tourist bureau on the BI is helpful as are all the Hawaii tourist bureau's give them a call or an email. Not sure about sunrise time. If memory serves sunset on Oahu was at 6:30-7pm for sunset. No 9pm sunsets on the islands or even 8pm sunset.

For daily updates on the eruption: hvo.wr.usgs.gov (the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaii Volcano Observatory website).